Toddlers sit on the top step and their grandmother stands on a landing, inside their partially destroyed home in the Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City. UNICEF/UNI188296/El Baba

Now in its 50th year, Israel's occupation is being cited by a recent UN report as a "key driver of humanitarian need" in the Palestinian territory and West Bank, including east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

Released annually, the humanitarian overview by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also mentions the internal Palestinian political divide as a "serious contributing factor."

The occupation denies Palestinians control over where they live, their ability to move freely within the territory, build on their own land and access natural resources, the agency says.

Close to five million Palestinians are said to be affected by the situation, with two million in need of humanitarian protection and assistance.

The vast majority are also exposed to conflict, displacement and restricted access to livelihoods and basic services such as water, healthcare, shelter and education.

David Carden, the head of the OCHA office in the occupied Palestinian Territory (oPT), shared details of the report with May Yaacoub.